Two top contenders to serve as Donald Trump’s Treasury secretary are engaged in what is being reported as a “knife fight” — and the president-elect is apparently widening his list of choices after he is said to have soured on one of them, according to reports.
Howard Lutnick, the billionaire CEO of Wall Street giant Cantor Fitzgerald, is said to be the “primary aggressor” in his battle with former George Soros money manager Scott Bessent as they jockey to be nominated for the position, according to the New York Times.
Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO who has become a close adviser to Trump, threw his support behind Lutnick over the weekend.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, whom Trump named Secretary of Health and Human Services, also publicly endorsed Lutnick. Both Musk and RFK Jr. went public with their support for the Long Island native after it appeared that he had dropped out of the running, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Musk, who owns the X social media platform, wrote that Bessent was a “business-as-usual choice” while Lutnick “will actually enact change.”
“Business-as-usual is driving America bankrupt, so we need change one way or another,” Musk wrote.
After Musk posted his message on X, allies of Bessent, founder of Key Square Group, arranged a phone call with the mogul on Saturday, according to Bloomberg News.
Sources close to Trump told Bloomberg News that the president-elect is considering appointing Lutnick to an ambassador post or other options.
Trump is expected to meet with both Lutnick and Bessent sometime this week for further discussions.
Last week, Bessent praised the president-elect’s economic agenda, which he said will usher in a period of growth.
“Everyone asks me, ‘What do you tell President Trump he should do?’ I don’t have to tell Donald Trump he should do anything. He’s done it. We had a great economy under Trump 1.0,” Bessent told Fox News Channel on Thursday.
“Under Donald Trump, we could have a golden age for the next four years. We can bring back the manufacturing. We can have energy dominance,” he added.
Meanwhile, Trump is reportedly considering two new names to head Treasury — former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh and Apollo co-founder and billionaire investor Marc Rowan.
Rowan, a major Trump donor who like the president-elect graduated from Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, indicated to Trump aides that he would be receptive to an offer to serve in the administration, according to the Journal.
According to the Times, Trump has told associates that he wants someone “big” to head Treasury and that he envisions someone who boasts wealth and status on Wall Street manning the post.
Trump has reportedly told people close to him that he has been impressed with Rowan while he has also remarks to others that he thought Warsh, whose name has been floated as a possible successor to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, was smart and handsome.
Trump considered naming Warsh to head the Fed in 2017, but instead nominated Powell — a decision he later regretted.
The president-elect is reportedly interested in how his cabinet picks affect the stock market. According to the Times, Trump ruled out appointing former trade adviser Robert Lighthizer to head the Treasury Department due to fears that it would upset Wall Street.
Trump is said to be keen to hire a Treasury secretary who will not oppose his policies — as Steven Mnuchin often did during his first term in office, according to the Times.
Karoline Leavitt, the incoming White House press secretary, told The Times: “President-elect Trump is making decisions on who will serve in his second administration. Those decisions will continue to be announced by him when they are made.”
The Post has sought comment from Lutnick, Warsh, Apollo and Bessent.
So far, Trump has announced more than 10 nominees for his Cabinet, including former Fox News host Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary.
He has also nominated former Representative Matt Gaetz, who has been accused of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, as attorney general.